Dangerous dog seized every month by police

Police in Staffordshire are seizing at least one dangerous dog every month and have had to deal with more than 300 reports of attacks over the past two years, new figures revealed today.

Animals removed from the streets by the force include 10 Staffordshire bull terriers, six pit bulls, one rottweiler and one bull mastiff. And the cash-strapped force, which has to make £38 million of savings by 2015, has had to spend more than £15,000 looking after those dogs.

Last year, 28 people were prosecuted by the force for offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson said costs incurred by police for looking after seized dogs should be paid by owners.

"The public should not be picking up the cost of looking after dogs. If a judge should decide it should be destroyed, the owner should pay for those costs, not the taxpayers of

Staffordshire," he said. "I'm very pleased that the police are taking action and seizing dangerous dogs because I've seen cases of constituents suffering horrendous injuries after being attacked by out-of-control animals."

Staffordshire Police spokesman Peter Bate explained a dog was usually seized if it was an illegal or dangerous breed, or if it had been involved in an offence.

With illegal or dangerous animals in cases where the owner cannot be traced, the dog can be destroyed after seven days or sooner if the owner is traced and agrees to its destruction. If the owner contests the destruction it then has to go through the court process.

If a dog has been involved in an offence, the dog must be kept until the court case has finished and then destroyed following conviction.

Figures show West Midlands Police received almost 500 reports of dog attacks last year and removed in the region of 300 dogs from the streets.